Fonfria, Day 30

We slept in today, as we were not sleeping in bunk beds and our roommates were nice and quiet. Around 7:30 am we left the albergue and mentally prepared ourselves for a day of climbing.

As we walked into the next closest town, we met up with a whole gang of friends that we had walked with in days past. We soon learned that today was extra special, it was our friend from Ireland’s birthday!! We decided to all walk together today, in the spirit of celebration. As we talked and walked up and up, time passed quickly. We were soon at a town called O Cebreiro and it was stunning. On the way in, there was a great viewpoint, at which you could see a sea of mountains. We sat down to rest and for a celebratory round of birthday beers, and then set off to our final destination for the day: Fonfria.

When we arrived, we were tired and somewhat sleepy. We had planned on making margaritas and tacos for dinner, but soon discovered that this town did not have a grocery store. So instead, we were all forced to buy the dinner from the alburgue. The mood was low, as we had been talking about tacos all day long, but little did we know it would be one of the best experiences on the camino.

We walked down to the round building where dinner was being held and sat at one long family style”table. The first course came out, and it was served by a wonderful and happy woman. We started with a Galecian stew. Then, a second course of rice, peppers and meat was served. The meat, a type of beef I assume, was similar to what we had in the albergue we stayed at without any other pilgrims. The meat tasted buttery, and melted in my mouth.

Everyone was happily chatting, when all of a sudden the lights went out. The woman who had been serving us emerged with a cake and candles, and started a round of “Feliz Cumpleanos”. We all sang happy birthday and then our friend blew out the candles.

As everyone ate their dessert, music blasted from the stereo at the entrance. The woman pointed at the birthday boy, calling him onto the dance floor. They danced and she continued to call on other shy men to dance with her. People began to leave their seats and join them on the dance floor. The following two hours was a dance party unlike any other Camino dance party.

After a while, we started doing group dances like the Macarena, the Hustle, Gangnam style, and the cha-cha slide. Everyone was sweating again and smiling by the time we all were forced to leave.

We are going to bed content with the wonderful day we had shared with our friends, looking forward to a day of downhill.